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by Chris Tate, Aire/Worth Valley Reporter

A young mum suffered two gunshot wounds to her stomach when masked attackers ran through a garden full of toys to shoot into her Bradford home as she cowered with her young daughter.

The horrifying daylight attack in Longfield Drive, East Bowling – a normally quiet cul-de-sac – began when a red Mitsubishi 4x4 screeched to a halt, three masked men leapt out, ran to the front of the modern semi-detached house and fired a shotgun through windows in the front door and kitchen at point blank range.

The 22-year-old woman was hit by pellets which sprayed the downstairs rooms but by pure fortune missed her seven-year-old daughter.

The attackers then fled as police, including armed response officers, raced to the scene on Friday afternoon.

The woman suffered serious, but not life threatening, stomach injuries and was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary for treatment where she remained last night.

On Saturday morning, police arrested a 24-year-old man in Lancashire on suspicion of attempted murder and firearms offences. Two other men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

The 24-year-old man and the woman were arrested by armed officers in dramatic scenes on Blackpool promenade when the black Vauxhall Corsa they were in was boxed in by police vehicles in front of stunned tourists.

At least five officers carrying automatic weapons arrested the pair in front of the Lyndene Hotel in South Shore as a police helicopter circled overhead at about 11am.

Traffic was shut off on the Promenade for about 30 minutes until the Vauxhall was towed away by police.

All four arrested remained in police custody last night.

At the scene of the shooting it could be seen that the shotgun had been fired so close to the windows the pellets had punched single holes the size of tennis balls through the glass but left the rest of the panes intact.

The deadly lead shot had then fanned out, spraying the blue-painted kitchen walls and passing on through a doorway into the living room at the back of the house.

One nearby resident, who asked not to be named, said the shooting had shocked the neighbourhood.

“It’s terrifying that someone could do something so insane, there’s a little girl in that house who could have been killed and the toys in the garden would have told them that was a possibility,” the man said.

“Also it was a sunny day and children had finished school and were playing out or in the gardens – it’s just beyond belief.”

Unison health and safety representative Michael Maguire lives nearby and said his son heard two loud bangs as the shots were fired.

“Police arrived very quickly and their helicopter hovered overhead. Officers called on all the local residents asking for any information,” Mr Maguire said.

West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Mark Milsom said his officers had worked closely with colleagues in Lancashire after they were given details of the prime suspect.

“As soon as the call came in about this incident we immediately dispatched officers, including armed response officers, to the scene to offer a reassuring presence and investigate what happened,” said Mr Milsom.

“Inquiries began immediately to trace a man we wanted to speak to in connection with the incident and we worked through the night with our colleagues in Lancashire Police.

“A 24-year- old man was arrested and two other men and a woman have also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. All were arrested in Lancashire. People in the communities we serve can be safe in the knowledge that we treat firearms incidents extremely seriously.”